Delve into the minds of industry pioneers with our Expert Articles page. Each article is a testimony to the decades of knowledge and expertise that our professionals bring to you.
In this article, we explore the origins of vibration transmitters and the underlying assumptions that led to their development. We also explore how they operate and their limitations. We conclude with a discussion of where and how they can provide value, common pitfalls that can be encountered, and best practices to observe when a transmitter […]
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Introduction If you spend any time at all with a machinery diagnostic engineer, the first thing you will learn is that they almost never rely solely on vibration data. Instead, they need a full “tool kit” of data. In fact, their first task upon arriving at site to collect data – or to remotely analyze […]
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Introduction With the founding of vibro-meter in the 1950s, we quickly established ourselves for not just innovation, but, as a Swiss company, for a level of quality that is consistent with the proverbial “Swiss watch”. Our earliest years focused primarily on accelerometers and piezo-electric devices, but we understood then – as we do now – […]
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A primer and a new product announcement Numerous industry problems were addressed with the emergence of Dry Low NOx (DLN) and Dry Low Emissions (DLE) gas turbine combustion designs in the 1990s. Dramatic improvements were realized over so-called Wet Low Emissions (WLE) approaches: not only were emissions reduced far more under DLE/DLN than under WLE […]
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Introduction The consequences of a false or missed trip can be enormous on modern turbomachinery. Consider for a moment an ethylene compressor incurring a thrust bearing failure without a reliable trip function. As the bearing destroys itself there is nothing to constrain further axial movement of the rotor assembly. Seals are wiped and ethylene escapes, […]
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Humorist and author Mark Twain famously quipped “the report of my death was an exaggeration1” In like manner, dire predictions anticipating the demise of stand-alone vibration monitors have been ongoing for decades. Will rack-based monitors be swallowed up and made obsolete by tightly integrated PLC or DCS modules? What are the advantages of stand-alone systems […]
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Although valves are non-rotating mechanical assets, they can still sustain damaging vibrations and incur other problems. Monitoring their condition is important – particularly on the large valves used in nuclear steam turbine service. In this second and final installment of a 2-part series, we wrap up our discussion by explaining what types of valves are […]
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Although valves are non-rotating mechanical assets, they can still sustain damaging vibrations and incur other problems. Monitoring their condition is important – particularly on the large valves used in nuclear steam turbine service. In this 2-part article, we explain what these valves do, why they are monitored, and how they are monitored. Introduction There are […]
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Our products are used to monitor and protect the largest machines and operations on the planet. That’s not hyperbole – that’s fact. In this series of articles, we have examined the world’s largest gas and steam turbines and our role in protecting them. We now conclude this 3-part series with a look at our historic […]
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Our products are used to monitor and protect the largest machines and operations on the planet. That’s not hyperbole – that’s fact. In this series of articles, we examine three of the “world’s largest” and what we do to make them safe and reliable. We continue our series here with installment #2 and an examination […]
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Our products are used to monitor and protect the largest machines and operations on the planet. That’s not hyperbole – that’s fact. In this series of articles, we examine three of the “world’s largest” and what we do to make them safe and reliable. Here, we showcase the world’s largest gas turbine – the Siemens […]
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In a recent customer survey on projects involving vibration system installations, upgrades, and retrofits, we gained insights that we wanted to pass along to you – some surprising, and some not-so-surprising – but all valuable. Introduction In September 2022, we surveyed 17 existing and potential customers with a series of qualitative questions about upgrade projects […]
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What, why, and how Hydro turbine-generators represent a mix of conventional radial vibration, thrust, and phase trigger measurements along with several measurements that are generally unique to hydro. In this article, we explore one such measurement – air gap – explaining what this measurement is, how it is made, and why it is important. Introduction […]
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While gas turbines have risen in importance due to their efficiency and their ability to generate power in a matter of minutes rather than hours, steam turbines retain an indispensable role in the world’s electricity production as well as mechanical drive applications. In this article, we briefly explore the basics of steam turbine monitoring. Many […]
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Combustion dynamics monitoring is often perceived as a “black box” where magical things take place inside without a clear understanding of how they work or what they do. In this brief tutorial, we de-mystify the topic and explain why it is a vital part of protecting modern gas turbines. Introduction Although gas turbines have been […]
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Sensor reliability In this 2-part series, we are examining the pros and cons of various sensors used for making low-frequency measurements. Although the hydro power sector is one of the most common industries where such measurements are required, it is by no means the only industry where such applications are found. The pulp & paper, […]
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Overview While it is tempting to think of wire as an ideal conductor that simply gets a signal from point A to point B without alteration, this is often not the case – particularly for long cable runs. In the real world, appreciable length of field wiring will introduce its own effects, meaning that the […]
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The physics of low-frequency measurements. In this 2-part series, we examine the pros and cons of various sensors used for making low-frequency measurements. Although the hydro power sector is one of the most common industries where such measurements are required, this is by no means the only industry where such applications are found. The pulp […]
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Thirty years ago, the phrase “islands of automation” was commonplace. It described instrument and control systems that exhibited very poor connectivity and were thus “islands unto themselves.” What little connectivity existed might consist only of analog 4-20mA outputs or discrete signals from relays. Although the phrase may not be as common these days, the ability to properly connect systems to one another remains a concern.
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The debate over centralized versus distributed instrumentation architectures has been ongoing for more than 40 years, predating many of those reading this. Nor will it end any time soon. This is unfortunate because it is needless.
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While it is often acceptable to think of wire as an ideal conductor that simply gets a signal from point A to point B, this is rarely the case for long cable runs. In the real world, appreciable lengths of field wiring will introduce constraints on the signals produced by the sensor and then routed to the monitoring channel.
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Supplementing your hardware alarms with the right software alarms is a vital part of a condition monitoring approach that “manages by exception”.
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How to simplify machinery fault identification, deliver actionable information to operators as well as machinery specialists, and leverage subject matter expertise across your entire organization?
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Large steam turbines employ a suite of supplementary measurements not found on other types of rotating machines.
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When we introduced the VM600 platform 21 years ago, we “broke the mold” by moving away from application-specific modules. The industry paradigm at that time was generally one module for accelerometers, another for velocity sensors, another for proximity sensors, another for thrust, still another for case expansion, yet another for speed, etc.
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Operational safety within the process industries has always been a priority. As the process sector moved into the computer age, new issues arose as manufacturing plants converted to computer-based control systems (replacing their aging electrical, pneumatic, and electronic controls).
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A machinery protection system and a condition monitoring system fundamentally fulfill different goals.
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Like the VM600, the new VM600Mk2 system is designed as a centralised system, with a well-thought-out modular structure allowing smart function combinations that enable complex systems to be built from a minimum number of modules.
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The American Petroleum Institute’s standard for machinery protection systems (API Standard 670) is a widely recognised industry standard, used actively by regulators and operators around the globe.
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A machinery protection system (MPS) is a crucial safety element designed to prevent accidents in industrial plants. The purpose of an MPS is to protect critical rotating machinery from catastrophic accidents and operational issues, thereby increasing uptime while reducing maintenance and repair costs.
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Many VibroSight® Condition Monitoring Systems have been deployed over the last (10x) years. Because VibroSight is an evolving product, new features and improvements are continuously added to the software.
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